Value-added Agricultural Success Story Ritter Farms J - Institute of

Value-addedAgriculturalSuccessStoryRitterFarms � This story is one of a special series of value-added agricultural enterprise successes in Tennessee. The entrepreneurs featured have worked with specialists at the Center for Profitable Agriculture in different ways to achieve various levels of start-up, sustainable and long-term enterprise success. I hope their stories will be interesting, informative and inspiring. Rob Holland, Director, Center for Profitable Agriculture Jack and Nancy Ritter bring fresh produce directly out of the field to sell in their market. J ack and Nancy Ritter have been farming together in Grainger County for nearly 40 years, although he traces his family’s ties to agriculture several generations back. Former schoolteachers, the Ritters have built a unique agritourism business that is centered on their big red barn, which faces busy state highway 11W. At first it was used to pack their Grainger County tomatoes to sell to wholesale markets. “People driving by would see our barn and stop and ask if they could buy from us,” recalls Nancy. “We decided if they wanted to buy our tomatoes, we could grow other things like green beans, cabbage, cucumbers, squash and onions, so we bought a scale and cash register and opened for business.” Their most successful item, of course, was the fresh-from-the-garden tomato that seemed to thrive in the limestone-laced soil. “Grainger County tomatoes are unique,” says Jack. “We grow them for the taste, which people like.” Whether it is the soil, the variety or the vine-ripened process, Grainger County tomatoes are now recognized internationally. Jack credits retired UT Extension agent Charles Cavin with making the local tomato a household name. “Charlie’s been the biggest promoter of Grainger County tomatoes we’ve ever had. Wherever Charlie traveled, he would tell people about them.” “Our tomatoes have even been sold at Harrods in London,” Jack says proudly. As the business took off, the Ritters looked for other ways to enhance their operation. “We weren’t busy in the winter, so we decided to open a kitchen where we could use any overabundance of fruit and vegetables so they wouldn’t go to waste,” Nancy says.